Articles Posted in Labor – Employment Law

To qualify as sexual harassment under Florida and Federal antidiscrimination laws, sexual conduct between employees must be so severe and pervasive that it alters the “terms and conditions” of employment. While it may be prudent for an employer to discourage sexual relationships between supervisors and employees, the mere fact that an employee has been the…

Certain types of employee complaints to an employer qualify as “protected activity.” An employer that responds to a protected complaint by terminating, demoting, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against the employee risks being sued for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Florida Civil Rights Act of…

Employers in litigation against their employees face the challenge of not only dealing with the claims made by those employees, but the threat of being left to pay the attorneys’ fees bill of their opponents. Employers can mitigate that risk, and sometimes even turn the tables and win their attorneys’ fees from their former employees,…

An aggrieved employee suing his or her employer for “sexual harassment” must present evidence that his workplace is such a hostile and abusive work environment because of his or her sex that it alters the conditions of his employment. An aggrieved employee does not make an actionable claim if he or she has suffered only…

Employers in Florida are free to use all lawful criteria in deciding which employees to promote within the business. It is well known that Florida and federal law prohibit employment discrimination based on various characteristics, such as race, age, national origin, sex, or religious affiliation. When considering employment discrimination lawsuits, Florida and federal courts have…

To determine whether a person is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), courts examine several factors to determine the “economic reality” of the relationship between the alleged employee and employer. Merely putting an independent contractor label on the alleged employee or entering a contract that controls the…

A recent decision from the federal appellate court that decides the legal standards for employment discrimination claims in Florida federal courts made it much easier for employers to defend against employment discrimination lawsuits. Under federal law, a plaintiff’s burden in an intentional-discrimination claim includes the burden to present evidence of other individuals who are “similarly…

This is Part Two of the two-part series of articles discussing the overtime wage exemption of truck loaders under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Following the United State Supreme Court’s decisions discussed in Part One, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued regulations interpreting the Motor Carrier Act Exemption set forth at 29…

This article is Part One in a two-part series of articles discussing the exemption of loaders from the wage-hour requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Businesses whose works load large trucks transporting goods in interstate commerce can defend themselves from overtime and minimum wage claims. Under the Motor Carrier Act exemption to the…

Most discrimination claims against Florida employers are based on Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act or under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992. A relatively recent case in the federal appellate court that has jurisdiction over Florida federal courts held that claims based on sexual orientation are not covered by the federal…